Doxa in Poetry: A Study of Aristotle's Poetics

The aim of this article is to show that doxa is the point of reference and evaluation from which all of Aristotle's central poetic concepts—mímesis, mythos, peripeteia, praxis téleia, éleos, phóbos, and so forth—can be properly grasped. I first show the endoxical and opinion-bound character of catharsis in discussing pity and fear within the framework of Aristotle's theory of the passions. Since the understanding of the meaning and the function of the plot necessitates a comprehension of the necessary, the probable, and the contingent, I then analyze these logical and poetic categories in the context of the Rhetoric, the Topics, and the Poetics. On the basis of these analyses, I discuss in the last part three endoxical dimensions of mimesis: (i) astonishment and pleasure, (ii) ethos and social praxis, and (iii) style and representation.